GENERALISE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does generalise mean? 

• GENERALISE (verb)
  The verb GENERALISE has 4 senses:

1. speak or write in generalities

2. draw from specific cases for more general cases

3. cater to popular taste to make popular and present to the general public; bring into general or common use

4. become systemic and spread throughout the body

  Familiarity information: GENERALISE used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• GENERALISE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they generalise    ... he / she / it generalises   
Past simple: generalised   
Past participle: generalised   
-ing form: generalising   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Speak or write in generalities

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

generalise; generalize

Hypernyms (to "generalise" is one way to...):

mouth; speak; talk; utter; verbalise; verbalize (express in speech)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Sentence example:

Sam and Sue generalise

Derivation:

generalisation (an idea or conclusion having general application)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Draw from specific cases for more general cases

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

extrapolate; generalise; generalize; infer

Hypernyms (to "generalise" is one way to...):

conclude; reason; reason out (decide by reasoning; draw or come to a conclusion)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "generalise"):

overgeneralise; overgeneralize (draw too general a conclusion)

universalise; universalize (make universal)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Derivation:

generalisation ((psychology) transfer of a response learned to one stimulus to a similar stimulus)

generalisation (the process of formulating general concepts by abstracting common properties of instances)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Cater to popular taste to make popular and present to the general public; bring into general or common use

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

generalise; generalize; popularise; popularize; vulgarise; vulgarize

Context example:

Relativity Theory was vulgarized by these authors

Hypernyms (to "generalise" is one way to...):

broadcast; circularise; circularize; circulate; diffuse; disperse; disseminate; distribute; pass around; propagate; spread (cause to become widely known)

Verb group:

popularise; popularize (make understandable to the general public)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 4

Meaning:

Become systemic and spread throughout the body

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Synonyms:

generalise; generalize

Context example:

this kind of infection generalizes throughout the immune system

Hypernyms (to "generalise" is one way to...):

distribute; spread (distribute or disperse widely)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP